1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optoelectronic sensor for measuring the profile of a weld seam or weld bead along a line perpendicular to the seam or bead. The sensor is intended to be a part of a highly automated welding system, in which it will be used in automatic tracking of the seam or automatic profiling of the weld bead for evaluation and assurance of quality during or after the welding process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore sensors utilized in conjunction with automated welding systems have been large and relatively heavy. These characteristics are of course quite undesirable in equipment for automatic welding systems.
An even greater deficiency of prior art sensors for automatic welders is their inability to reject optical noise created by the proximity of the sensor to the welding arc. A further deficiency of prior art sensors is the frequent contamination of critical components by the splatter and by-products produced by the welding operation.
Examples of related prior art are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,410,787 to Kremers et al., 4,724,302 to Penney et al. and 4,816,640 to Sugitani et al. Each of these patents shows profiling devices which utilize image processing to control the profile configuration of a weld. In addition the patent to Kremers et al. shows the use of a pulsed lighting device to illuminate the area of a weld which is to be profiled. However, neither the above cited patents nor any known prior art provides a compact profile sensor contained within a single housing and having the unique optics, and illumination capabilities of that disclosed and claimed herein.